-
Benefits and payments homepage
-
Overview
Take a look at the range of benefits and payments we have available.
-
Not working
Redundancy, health condition or disability or another reason you can’t work
-
Living expenses
Food, school costs, power, accommodation or other living expenses you need help with
-
Relationship changes
You’ve had a relationship break-up, family breakdown or violent relationship end
-
Health and Disability
Counselling, prescription and GP costs, medical alarms and other costs we can help with
-
Seniors
Travelling overseas, how to apply, payment rates and dates, overseas pensions, income and other info for Seniors
-
Caring
Caring for someone else’s child or someone with a health condition, injury or disability
-
Urgent or unexpected costs
Dental, glasses, car repairs, fridge, washing machine, funeral or other urgent costs you need help with
-
Children
Childcare, school uniforms, stationery, having a baby and other costs if you have children
-
Payment issues
Fixing issues with Accommodation Supplement, Special Benefit and other payments we’ve made
-
16-19 year olds
Education, training, work and benefit help for 16-19 year olds
-
Benefits and forms
A-Z list of benefits, forms, benefit rates
-
-
Work homepage
-
Overview
Find out what services we can offer to help you find work and when you start a new job.
-
Looking for work
We have jobs available now in various industries and you can search on our job websites.
-
Help with your job search
From advice on making a plan, to tips on where to look and following up leads.
-
Training and experience
Our programmes can help you get ready for work with training and work experience.
-
Apprenticeship Support Programme
Get help to retain and bring on new apprentices.
-
CVs and cover letters
We’ve got great templates and advice for writing your CV or cover letter, and filling out job applications.
-
Help with work costs
Get help to pay for the things you need to start work
-
Job support and advice
Get all the support and advice you need to stay in work.
-
Health and disability
If you want to work, we can support you to find the right job for you.
-
Start your own business
We can help you get your business up and running.
-
Job interviews
Get advice about how to prepare for and deliver a great interview.
-
Help for 16-19 year olds
We’ve got extra support for young people to get ready for work and find a job.
-
-
On a benefit homepage
-
Overview
Check out what you need to do when you're getting a benefit or other payment from us.
-
Something's changed
Address, contact details, overseas travel, childcare, relationship or anything else that’s changed.
-
Income
Declare income, wages deduction calculator and tables
-
Childcare
Change in your childcare situation, continue childcare payments, cohort entry schools and other childcare information
-
Re-apply
Re-apply for Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support, Temporary Additional Support and more
-
Payments
Check or stop your payments, payment cards and other information
-
Debt
Check your debt, repayments and other debt information
-
Rights and responsibilities
Our commitment to you, obligations, complaints, benefit fraud and more
-
-
Housing homepage
-
Overview
Find out how we can help you with housing.
-
Nowhere to stay
Get help if you have nowhere to stay right now.
-
Find a house
Find out where to look for private housing, or apply for public (social) housing.
-
Living in your home
Get help with accommodation costs, and advice on any housing issues and public housing tenancies.
-
Move house
Find out how we can help if you’re moving house.
-
Review of a decision
If we've made a decision that you don't agree with, you can ask for a formal review.
Information
You need to ask for a review within 3 months of the decision being made. After that time a review will happen only if there's a very good reason for the delay.
Fix it over the phone
If you don't think we have this right or there's something you don't understand, call us – we can usually fix it over the phone.
You also have the right to ask us to review the decision formally.
Apply for a formal review
Apply for a Review of Decision within 3 months of the decision being made.
If you disagree with a decision made on medical grounds, eg your eligibility for a benefit based on your health condition or your capacity to work, you need to ask for a review of a medical decision
Who can apply for a Review of Decision
- Your advocate or agent (who has signed permission to act on your behalf).
- You as the person applying for a benefit.
-
Apply for a Review of Decision
You need to tell us the date you heard about the decision, what the decision was about and why you disagree with it. Here are the ways you can do this:
- fill in a Review of Decision Application Form
- submit your enquiry online – open the dropdown menu and choose ‘Review of Decision’
- post a letter to your nearest service centre.
You don't have to use legal language.
-
Internal review
We'll look again at the information you gave us, which we based our decision on, to see if we missed anything or made a mistake which means the outcome should be different.
We may call you if we have any questions or need more information.
Sometimes we contact other people to get more information during the internal review, for example, if it's a Sole Parent Support decision about who the main caregiver is for the child, we may contact the other parent to talk about the review and ask them who the main caregiver is.
-
The outcome of the internal review
We'll write to tell you whether the decision has been overturned or upheld. We aim to write to you within 2 weeks of receiving your request for a review.
Decision is overturned
You'll be asked to sign some forms to put the new arrangement in place. The review process stops here.
Decision is upheld
If we believe we made the right decision in the first place, we'll send a report to the Benefits Review Committee asking them to take a fresh look at your case.
-
Benefits Review Committee hearing
The Benefits Review Committee is made up of two people from the Ministry of Social Development who weren't involved in the decision being reviewed, and one other person appointed by the Minister for Social Development.
Someone from the Committee will contact you to set a date for a hearing, so they can look at your case and make a decision on what happens next.
The hearing is an informal meeting which takes about 40 minutes. We encourage you to attend so you can answer any questions or provide more information.
You can bring a support person, advocate or lawyer with you. Or you can send a lawyer in your place.
-
Benefits Review Committee report
You'll get a report from the Committee letting you know what the final outcome is. They'll send this to you about 10 working days after the hearing.
If the Committee agrees with you and the decision needs to be overturned, the service centre you've been dealing with will put things right.
-
What if you still disagree?
If you disagree with the Benefits Review Committee decision, you can appeal to the Social Security Appeal Authority. The authority is made up of people who work for the Ministry of Justice.
The report you receive from the Benefits Review Committee will tell you how to lodge an appeal, or you can call 04 462 6660.